The Tangled Prop 2

by Johnny Handle
(1992)

It was down the cut te Tamworth, Aa wrote this little song,
It may be kinda saucy, but it won't detain you long;
Aa woke up bright this morning, then the engine starts to 'Plop*,
So aa had te lowse, Ao had te lowse,
Aa had te lowse, the tangled prop.

Now the Skipper is quite burly, and the Mate's not terribly lean,
And me bein' small and handy, just the go-between;
So doon Aa gans on me hands and knees, and me spirits start te drop,
Arms in the watter, Arms in the watter,
Arms in the watter, roond the tangled prop.

Well he had a sense of humour, as the crew all laughed with glee,
And Aa held up the garments for all the world te see;
“My dear, you must be careful, where you let your undies drop,
Then we'll never find your knickers, we'll never find your knickers,
We'll never find your knickers, round the tangled prop".

But he was a rep for the breweries, and distillers of fine whisky,
"Come into our boat, have a few drams, until you feel more frisky"
So Aa began te feel more human, as Aa jumped on with a hop,
And Aa'm glad Aa fund the knickers, glad Aa fund the knickers,
Glad Aa fund the knickers, roond the tangled prop!

I am indebted to Johnny Handle who has taken the time to provide me with printed copies of his canal songs. Johnny has written many songs, mainly about coal mining and his native north-east of England - an area deprived of canals. More details of Johnny Handle's work can be found on his website and Pete Wood has recently (2017) written his biography.